My Fair Lady
by HuaFeiHua
Summary: Princess Momo goes on a magical quest to defeat a dragon. Along the way, she picks up Shoto no-last-name-given, who is running away from home. ABANDONED.
1. A Daydream Tale

**Word Count: **6,071

* * *

Enter Momo Yaoyorozu. Crown princess to the Yaoyorozu Kingdom due to her status as the only child, she was perfectly capable of running said kingdom all by herself, thank you very much.

However, the people spoke for themselves when they said they wanted a king for their kingdom. They said they didn't think a queen could possibly keep up with all the things a ruler must do in order for the place to run perfectly. After all, _noble women_ were too _delicate_ to do anything remotely political for extended periods of time. _Noble women _wouldn't know how to properly lead the armies out to battle should a war break out.

To this, Momo rolled her eyes, but as her seventeenth birthday approached, her parents quietly advised her to do something about it. After all, a ruler without the support of the ruled was powerless.

She had to admit, they were right. So she listened to the options they gave her.

One, she could marry. It could be some foreign royal and strengthen an alliance, perhaps create a new one. Or, it could be one of the powerful lording houses that were already loyal to the family. Who she married mattered not, as long as they came from somewhere respectable.

Two, she could prove herself. There had been recent complaints of a dragon coming from the towns near the Western border, but there had yet to be anything done about it. Should she slay it, whether it be on her own or with help of her choosing, that should show the citizens that she _would_ be a capable queen, with or without a king by her side. She would have one year to complete this task.

_Are those my only options? _Momo had asked, her arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

Her parents nodded.

_Well, then my choice is clear. _Everyone in the room held their breath. _I'll go and slay the dragon._

And so, on Princess Momo's seventeenth birthday, all the king's horses, all the king's men, and all the politically relevant people in the land, saw off the darling princess of Yaoyorozu as she set off on her quest to slay the dragon to the West.

* * *

It was a beautiful day. Bees were buzzing. Flowers were blooming. There was something wonderful and irreplaceable about a day like that.

The fields were wonderfully green. The sky was delightfully blue. Fluffy cotton ball clouds floated lazily about above said wonderfully green fields and in said delightfully blue sky.

Momo sighed contentedly as her horse trotted down a beaten dirt road, admiring the wonderful scenery as it passed her by. A sword of her own creation hung upon her waist, and a shield to match was fast on its way. Though she had set out but a few hours ago, everything seemed to be going exactly as planned.

That is, of course, until a blast of ice just narrowly missed her face.

"Woah there!" she cried as she pulled on the reins in an effort to calm her rearing horse.

She looked to the source of the ice blast and saw some poor, disheveled boy her age fighting tooth and nail to get away from a griffin. Half the landscape has already been transformed into a tundra from his wild shots, but it seemed that despite the boy's powerful quirk, the griffin was just too stubborn to let him go, even with its own front legs frozen over.

Immediately, Momo dismounted.

"Stay here," she instructed her horse. He blinked back at her understandingly, and she ran off with her sword drawn and shield freshly minted to save the strange boy with the ice quirk.

Panting, Momo wiped the blood off her sword as she stood over the still-warm body of the griffin. She glanced down at the boy she just saved, who stared back up at her with a subtle mix of confusion and awe in his mismatched eyes as he lay sprawled out on the ground. She can't help but wonder what strange past he must have to stain half his hair red as blood and give him such a nasty scar over his eye.

Sitting up, he said, "Princess Yaoyorozu."

Momo sheathed her sword and slipped her shield off her arm. "Yes," she said patiently. "And you are?"

The boy immediately opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated slightly before actually giving an answer. "Shoto," he finally decides upon.

"Just Shoto?" Momo raised an eyebrow at him. "No title? No family name?"

He only shook his head.

She crossed her arms, curious and a little bit suspicious, but not enough so as to question his lack of a surname. "Okay then, Shoto. What business do you have fighting a griffin in the middle of a meadow?"

"It attacked me."

"But why were you here in the first place?"

"I ran away from home."

Momo blinked in surprise. _Well, at least he's honest,_ she thought as she peered at him curiously. He gazed unflinchingly back at her, his expression unreadable. _That would explain the disheveled appearance at least. _

She figured it wasn't in her place to be prying. Breaking their stare, she observed the terrain around them only to find what little ice remaining to be melting quickly. She spared another glance for Shoto and spied his left hand steaming. _He must be capable of melting the ice as well as producing it,_ she realized, her interest in the boy growing ever larger.

"Say, Shoto, how would you like to help me slay a dragon?"

* * *

He wasn't all too sure why he said yes. Perhaps it was because he had nowhere else to go, and dragon slaying was something he'd been groomed all his life to do. Or, perhaps, it was because it was an invitation rather than a command. Most likely, it was both, but there was also something else that he couldn't quite place that made him want to join the princess.

Why he even told her he was running away was an even bigger mystery to himself, but whatever the reason, it didn't particularly matter to him. All he was concerned about at the moment was getting as far away from the Todoroki manor while still retaining feeling in his butt because _wow_ sitting on the far end of a horse _sucked_.

The princess had insisted that he call her by her first name, since they were a party now and all. Privately, he thought she was acting kind of dweebish, since she seemed to be basing her words off the fairy tales of old, but he also supposed his own social skills might be subpar due to his upbringing.

But _gosh_, why did she even ask him to join her on such a quest? She clearly had no idea who he was and what he was capable of. All she knew about him was that he had a mixed quirk and that he ran away from home. She didn't… _know_, did she? How _could_ she? She was the princess! She had no way of knowing the family drama of _one_ lording house! She was probably too busy with politics and manners and whatever else it was that princesses did in their spare time. Looking at how well-built she was, it probably _wasn't_ embroidery.

Returning back to the topic at hand, it also didn't help that his appearance wasn't the most forgettable thing in the world. His face was practically split down the middle! It wouldn't be a surprise if she had seen him at one of those balls his older sister managed to drag him to and subconsciously remembered that when meeting him again today.

Dammit, dammit, _dammit._ She knew. She _so_ knew. There was no way in the entire, fantastical world that she _didn't_ know, and she was totally going to drag him back home the second she knew he knew she knew.

He suppressed a sigh. _Well, might as well make the most of it,_ he thought as he changed to sitting side saddle and watched as the scenery went by. _But Shoto Todoroki, you are going to regret this later._

He felt something slide behind his ear. Confused, he looked at the princess, who immediately looked embarrassed. He pulled the whatever-it-was out and found himself holding a cold but admittedly very pretty flower.

"I, uh," the princess stuttered. "Well, I, erm— it's glass. I can't make living things, you see. But I just thought that you looked so much like— ah, whatever. Sorry, I couldn't really help it. You can get rid of it if you… like."

He carefully put the delicate glass creation back where the princess had originally placed it. It was very thoughtful of her, and it _was_ pretty. "Thank you," he said. "It's very nice."

They stared at each other for a few solid seconds, and it truly looked as if the princess was trying to smother a giggle. He slowly blinked at her but said nothing, and she immediately returned her attention to the road.

He returned his gaze to the expanse laid out before him. Perhaps he wouldn't regret this at all.

Only time would tell.

* * *

She put the flower in his hair because looking at him for just a few seconds, in the fading light, he looked kind of like a princess. It was cute, and she was privately glad he decided to keep it.

* * *

The first night was cold.

They camped in the woods. Being just the start of autumn, the days had yet to cool down significantly, but the nights already had a chill to them. As it turned out, Shoto was too shy to use his left side to start a fire for them, and Momo couldn't figure out what kind of rock it was in a tinderbox that made the sparks.

Sleeping alone really let in the drafts.

The second night was better.

They were in the middle of a vast, sprawling meadow, but it was a cloudy night. He was still unwilling to show her the extent of his firepower, but she managed to make a blanket to go with their bedrolls. Sure, it was only one, and sure, they would have to share it, but it wasn't like it was so small they would be forced to cuddle together just in order to both be under it at the same time.

Still, he functioned well as an inadvertent heater.

The third night they had company.

They had been following the beaten dirt road for the whole three days, but only now did they stumble across the tiny town so small, it didn't show up on any of the maps Momo had referenced before leaving home. It had an inn, but it was small. Rather than ending up with two separate rooms, they had to squeeze in with some stranger who snored. There were two beds, but by the time the two had arrived, one had already been taken by the snoring stranger.

Shoto slept on the floor out of his own accord.

On the fourth day of having him, the two had already begun to grow more comfortable around each other. There were still long stretches of silence during the day, but he was no longer practically mute in her presence. He was far from a chatterbox, but he did make good company.

By the fifth day, they had even begun to establish a rough routine together. Shoto would wake up first and go off on his own, and by the time he came back, Momo would be awake. They'd cook, then hit the road for a number of hours. They took breaks sometimes, but a real conversation had yet to happen between them.

* * *

They were in another forest when Momo felt something was up. She pulled on her horse's reins abruptly and swiftly dismounted, completely ready to unsheathe her sword and take on whatever it was, but before she could say anything, he had already stiffened.

"There's someone nearby," was all he said as he too slid off the horse and pulled out a sword she had made him soon after they had met.

In an instant, they had their backs to each other, weapons drawn in anticipation of the enemy.

Momo's heart pounded against her ribcage; the anticipation was killing her. Seconds felt like days as she could neither see nor sense any other human presence aside from Shoto. The two of them crept closer and closer together until their backs were touching, and yet still, nothing appeared.

She was about to turn around and challenge him to a duel anyway when a bush rustled nearby. She flinched, and she could feel Shoto stiffen behind her. Slowly, _slowly,_ Momo eyed the offending shrubbery when all of a sudden, a frog girl leapt out of it.

Both Momo and Shoto relaxed when they saw her non-threatening demeanor.

"Ribbit," she said. "Are you the Princess Yaoyorozu?"

"Y-yes," Momo replied as she sheathed her blade. "I am she. What concerns you, Miss…?"

"Call me Tsuyu," the frog girl croaked. "Anyway, there is a young magus nearby who has heard of your quest to slay the dragon to the west. She wishes to join you on your journey. Would you like to meet her, princess?"

_A young magus girl?_ Momo thought. _I wonder what she can do._ _I mean, I already have this guy. _She looked at Shoto, who had also put away his sword and at that moment stood next to her. _He seemed pretty good just when I met him, and with his ice powers, we could easily slay a fire-breathing dragon together if we tried._

Tsuyu cocked her head, the sudden movement drawing the princess out of her thoughts. "Ribbit?"

"Ah, yes. I would like to meet her," Momo quickly said.

"Very well. Is your escort coming, or will he be keeping the horse company?" Tsuyu asked.

"Escort—?" Momo shot Shoto a half-panicked glance. "He's not my escort."

"I'm her companion," he bluntly stated. "She invited me to join her on her quest."

The frog girl peered at them curiously. She said, "I assume that means you're coming along then, so you'd better bring the horse along if you want to keep using it. Thieves like to make base in forests, you know."

As Tsuyu began to hop away, Momo made a mental note to have a conversation with Shoto later on what their relationship was going to be classified as because this kind of thing could _not_ happen again.

The short walk was devoid of all conversation, but the steady footsteps on the soft forest floor were pleasant enough. Before either Momo or Shoto realized it, they stood before a large mushroom cottage in a pretty, little clearing.

"This is where the magus Uravity lives. She should be home right now. She's a little anxious about meeting you, but she's a nice girl. Very strong, too. I'm sure you'll love her the instant you see her," Tsuyu told them as she opened the door and let them in. "Ochako!"

"Aieee!" In an instant, a round-faced girl came rushing down the stairs. She came skidding to a stop right in front of the two guests and stood on her tiptoes so that she could better speak to Momo. "Are you the Princess Yaoyorozu? I'm Ochako Uraraka, the magus Uravity! Oh, well, I'm sure that my dear friend Tsu already told you that, hehe. You can call me Ochako or Uraraka though. Oh! But who's this with you? I didn't know you had an escort. I heard that you embarked on this quest to prove to your subjects that you could do things yourself. I think having an escort kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?"

"I'm not her escort," Shoto said. "I'm her companion. She invited me to join her."

Uraraka visibly deflated. Her gaze turned to the floor as she fell back onto her heels and took a step back. "I see. Sorry about all the questions just now. It's just a habit I picked up from my tutor, Nejire-chan." She looked up at Momo again with determination. "I know you didn't ask for me, but I promise I can be useful! I can make things float using my quirk! And I'm sure my magic training will come in handy, too!"

Momo looked down at the squishy-cheeked girl begging to join, then glanced over at Tsuyu, who hadn't said anything since calling her friend over. The frog girl merely shrugged. _It's your decision._

"Also, I know someone you might find useful!" Uraraka continued. "You see, I have an adventurer friend named I like to call Deku, and he has this childhood friend, Kacchan, who comes from a line of dragonlords—"

Momo's eyebrows jumped up in surprise. It wasn't as though she hadn't originally thought of rejecting the girl's inquiry, but _this_ new tidbit piqued her interest.

"And so anyway the last time he visited, he told me about how Kacchan had recently been knighted and was setting off on a quest of his own." Uraraka finally took a breath, but it sounded as if it all came right back out again with how she finished off her pitch:

"If I can find Deku again, then I'm _sure_ that he can get Kacchan to join and help you slay the dragon!"

And with that, Momo was sold. With a smile, she accepted the gravity girl's offer.

Uraraka's face lit up, and she was once again bouncing on her heels in excitement. "Oh, _thank_ you, Princess Yaoyorozu! You won't regret this, I promise!"

"Momo," the princess told her with a smile.

"Huh?" Uraraka paused for a second.

"You can call me Momo," she repeated. "We're members of the same party now. You don't have to keep calling me princess."

It looked like the poor mage was going to explode with happiness. "Yaomomo!" she cried, leaping up to hug the other girl.

"Uh," Momo said, unsure of how to react to the new nickname.

"Hey, Ochako, I think we should let them in," Tsuyu croaked from inside. "It's lunchtime."

Uraraka let go just as quickly as she had latched onto Momo. "Right! Come on in!"

* * *

What was it with people and assuming he was her escort? And that weird look Tsuyu gave them when he told her; she didn't _not_ believe them, right? Because he definitely was not escorting the princess anywhere. From the few sparring sessions they'd had when giving the horse a rest, he had found she was a very worthy opponent. Their matches usually ended in draws, and even when there was a victor, so far there had been an even split of wins. She was definitely capable of bringing herself anywhere she so desired by herself.

At least they weren't assuming _weird_ things about their relationship. Like, as ridiculous as the idea of the princess needing an escort was, at least no one thought they were, you know, _betrothed_ or anything.

Then again, it seemed the news had already travelled all throughout the land that she was on this quest to prove that she was independent anyway, so why _would_ they assume such a thing like betrothal?

He facetabled, unwilling to let the girls see the distress he was struggling to contain.

Why would _he_ think they'd assume such a thing?

His left ear caught fire.

Dammit, he was so embarrassed of himself.

The girls stopped their chattering, and one of them pinched out the tiny flame. After a moment of quiet, they resumed their conversation.

Besides, no one knew he was a lord's son. To pair the princess with someone whom they assumed was just some random twit was ridiculous.

Someone poked him. "Hey, Shoto, I'm about to go draw water from the well. I'm just a poor, little frog, so I need you to come with me as a precaution."

He lifted his head up and looked at Tsuyu. He was pretty sure she didn't usually have random dudes around to make sure she got her water safely, but she was giving him a very no-nonsense look. Well, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. "Okay," he said as he got up. He nodded his goodbyes to the princess and Uraraka and followed her out the door.

The second they were out of earshot, Tsuyu said: "Forgive me now for being so blunt, but that's just how I am. You like Momo, don't you?"

He blinked, confused. "Well, I don't think I would be accompanying her if I didn't like her."

The frog girl stopped and stared up at the sky. "Ah, I guess you don't see what I do yet. It's okay." She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. "You'll get there someday."

With that, she began to hop away again.

Confused as ever, he followed her. She _did_ ask him to come with her; he might as well go.

But _wow_ was she ominous. Well, not really _ominous_, but weird at the very least. She seemed to know that he was going with the princess for reasons other than just because she had asked him. He hadn't told anyone he was a runaway besides the princess, but that was only because she had asked.

Being but a simple forest dweller, the probability of Tsuyu recognizing him as a lord's son was very low to the point of negligible. Besides, they were almost a hundred miles from where he first met the princess, so if she knew his identity, those were some damn crazy odds.

He just wasn't sure what she was talking about. Of _course_ he liked the princess. Why wouldn't he? She respected his ability and need for space, two things he had never gotten at home. Plus, she fought good.

So what was it that Tsuyu was seeing that he himself couldn't?

* * *

The girls were so engrossed in conversation that they failed to notice the fact that Uraraka had yet to pack up until it was well into the evening. After Momo briefly chided Shoto for not reminding her of how late it was getting, it was decided between repeated, profuse apologies that the two would stay the night. The three adventurers would depart in the morning once Uraraka gathered her things.

However, there were only two rooms available in the tiny mushroom house, and no matter how hard the hosts insisted that she and Shoto should take them both, Momo insisted just as firmly that it wasn't necessary. In the end, they compromised: the hosts would sleep in Uraraka's room, and the guests would get Tsuyu's room.

Originally, Momo hadn't thought it would be a big deal. She and Shoto shared that room in the inn a few nights ago. How would this be any different?

Then, she saw the dirt floor.

"You can have the bed," Shoto immediately said as he entered and sat down in a heap upon a wicker chair in the corner. "I'll sleep on the floor again."

"What? No! It's dirty!" Literally _dirty!_

"We have bedrolls. Plus, we haven't showered in three days, princess. We're already dirty. Besides—" Shoto looked at her as he froze his right half, then melted it all away with just his left hand. "Ice plus fire makes water. It's like bathing in a cold stream."

Momo watched as the water pooled at his feet and turned half the dirt floor into mud. "Um," she said. When Shoto looked at her blankly, she gestured to the filthy mess he'd made.

He swore, lifting a boot up off the ground just to check if it really was that bad. It was. He heated up his hand until it glowed like the embers of a fire. "Well, it's not like I can't just dry that up, too."

"You're going to burn their house down!"

Shoto let the heat die, and he looked at Momo again. "Well then, what am I supposed to do, just leave it?"

Momo scanned the room for possible solutions, but with a small lily pond taking up most of the other half (Tsuyu _was_ a frog, after all), there seemed to be only one that was viable. "We— we can… _we can share the bed!" _she declared.

He stared at her. "How scandalous, princess."

Her face reddened.

So did his.

A matryoshka doll popped into existence out of its own accord and fell to the floor.

His left ear burst into flame again.

The two of them looked away, embarrassed.

"W-well, if you want to sleep in the mud that badly, then it's up to you," Momo said.

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry," replied Shoto as he extinguished his ear. "Your idea was fine."

A moment passed as they both waited for the room to cool down.

Momo threw a pair of freshly created clothes at him. "You're not going to ruin Tsuyu's bed by soaking it with muddied water," she told him as she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Once out, she immediately sank to the floor. That was the single most awkward moment of her _life_.

* * *

The bed was a _lot_ smaller than Momo had initially thought it was, but it _could_ fit both of them. Side to side, palm to palm, with no barrier between them and _no_ idea how the person lying next to them might move throughout the night.

Momo stared at the moon through the tiny window. It was probably well past the witching hour by now. She couldn't sleep, but she didn't want to move in case she woke up Shoto. If he was sleeping, that is. Judging by his steady breathing, it sure sounded like it.

He rolled over beside her, putting his back to hers. Momo held her breath, hoping, hoping…

"You can't sleep either, huh?"

Nope. He was awake.

"I thought you were asleep," she whispered. "I've been lying here for hours trying not to wake you up!"

"Sorry," he breathed. "I thought _you_ were asleep, so I pretended I was too to convince myself to fall asleep."

Momo let out a short, quiet, breathy laugh. She closed her eyes and relaxed. _This is so ridiculous. _Suddenly, she remembered what she wanted to talk to him about earlier. She rolled over so that she faced his back. "Hey, Shoto."

"Yeah?"

"What are we?"

"You're the princess. I'm your companion."

"No, like, are we _friends?_ We're going to need a quicker way to explain our relationship to people in the future."

Shoto rolled over to face her too; they were so close that she could feel his breath brush up against her face. She could see every detail of his face, from the rough grooves in his scar to the little flecks in his eyes, in the pale light of the moon.

"I guess you could say that if you wanted," he said slowly, and she smiled at him. "Hey, uh, Momo?"

Her stomach dropped at the sound of him finally using her name, but she didn't react otherwise. "Hmm?"

"Do you think horses have dreams, too?"

She tried to stifle a laugh. "Where did that come from?"

"I've had a long time to think tonight."

"So I see," she said softly. "I have no idea." She resisted the urge to reach out and touch the angry red mark on his face. "But if you don't mind me asking, how did you get that scar?"

His expression immediately clouded over, and he rolled over again. "My mom threw boiling water on me when I was little," he grunted.

Momo's gut twisted. She rolled over again, and they were once again back to back. Her eyelids were growing heavy now. Perhaps she _would_ get some shut-eye tonight.

* * *

His scar, huh? So maybe she _didn't_ know why he was running away from home. That was a relief. He would rather like to keep the past behind him. Though, he didn't know what he'd do once the quest was over. He'd figure it out when the time came. For now, it was late, and the princess's steady breathing was so calming…

* * *

He didn't know why the princess was sleeping on his arm. He just knew he was awake again, thanks to someone slamming the door way harder than it was probably ever meant to be slammed. And that this was kind of awkward.

He sighed. He didn't want to disturb her; after all, she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Judging from how quickly she had fallen asleep once she knew he was up as well, she had probably been stressing out over accidentally waking him. A nice sentiment, but his arm was getting numb now from the lack of blood.

He glanced over the side of the bed. Well, at least the mud had dried up overnight. He leaned as far as he could without disturbing the princess and snatched his old trousers up off the floor. Digging around in each of the pockets, he pulled out the glass flower she had made him on their first day.

Somehow, despite its delicate looks, there wasn't even a scratch on it. He didn't know enough about flowers to be able to identify what she had made him, but he had to admit, he was still impressed with its craftsmanship. The colors were so even and beautiful; how had she even managed to do that when even the most experienced glassblowers never knew what shade their creations would end up as?

The princess stirred beside him. Thank goodness. He wanted to be able to feel his fingers again.

* * *

Three people on one horse wasn't usually a good idea, but with Ochako's ability to decrease an object's weight, the strain on Momo's horse was as close to none as possible.

The only problem Momo had with the arrangement was how _squished_ it was. She lived with it for the first day. The second day, they made far less progress than she would have liked. Uraraka was exhausted from using her quirk so much the previous day, so they had to walk most of that day away.

By the third day, her patience had worn thin, not with the other girl (she was a cheerful, little _angel_), but with their style of travelling. Riding bareback on her horse's haunches _sucked_.

She sighed and kicked everyone off the horse. Facing a nervous-looking Uraraka, she said, "We're going to need to get you your own horse. We can't just keep crowding on like this. You too, Shoto."

"Do you have enough money for that?" he asked as Ochako quietly exhaled.

"Of course I do!" Momo quickly replied, pulling out her purse. "Behold!" She reached inside to prove her point, only to discover the opposite to be true.

(Ochako glanced almost feverently between Momo and Shoto, nervous panic building in her expression once more.)

Momo sighed. "Okay, so maybe not enough for the both of you."

"You're the princess," Shoto pointed out (very helpful of him). "It wouldn't be that hard to open up a tab and pay them back once you return home."

But Momo pointedly shook her head at him. "I don't want to go around abusing my title like that. We're not from here, and quest or no quest, I don't want to go around taking from people's livelihoods simply because I'm the princess." She tied the purse back around her waist. "There's enough for another horse more, and we'll simply make do with two to a horse for a while. We do need to keep enough to eat, after all."

"Oh," Ochako quietly said (practically mumbled), her eye contact strangely lacking. "I can go without for a few days if it means we can get another horse."

Momo stared at the girl, who continued on.

"I mean, it would be better to get things done faster in the long run, right? You'll be able to pay me, and then I'll be able to feed myself, and my parents, and—" Ochako glanced up, made eye contact with Momo, and her words simply stopped and died in her throat.

(She shut her jaw after a moment, once she grew aware of her gaping.)

"Is that what you're used to doing?" Momo asked, softly, kindly, her eyes full of concern. The idea Ochako was presenting, that families were out there in her kingdom starving to the point of normalcy, was nearly unfathomable. She didn't _want_ to believe it, not a bit—! But the other girl had no reason to lie.

Ochako averted her eyes once more and nodded, somewhat lamely. "I mean, my parents would never do that to me if they could help me, but…" she trailed off again, still notably different from the Uraraka they met a few nights before.

"Well, not anymore!" the princess declared. "You're a part of this party now, and that means no one gets left out or forgotten!"

Ochako began to cry.

* * *

It was almost funny the way they found that Deku fellow. Shoto might have laughed, if he hadn't also been woefully unfamiliar with the action. (Not to mention that he also felt it was a strange thing to do in the situation regardless.)

"_**Deku**__?_"

It had been Uraraka who had spotted him (obviously), working the horses there in the stable shop from which they bought their second horse.

Shoto peered curiously at Deku, watching the boy with an unflinching, unblinking gaze as he nearly jumped out of his skin, turned around, and turned into a scarlet, blubbering mess with words practically hemorrhaging from his mouth. _What was up with him?_ Shoto couldn't help but to cock his head, paying little mind to what Deku was actually saying. Not until the words slowed down and became more intelligible, anyway.

But in the meantime, Shoto finally allowed for his gaze to wander, and it settled on the princess, studying the way her hair caught the light as it filtered through the dusty stable air. It bothered him a little, the way the dust would dance through the sun's rays only to settle in his lady's hair, but in a place like this, it was simply inevitable.

Despite hearing nary a word that had spilt out of Deku in the last few minutes, Shoto was able to catch the quiet rustle of the princess's hair when she brushed her bangs out of her eyes. He found his eyes trailing after her every motion, from her fingertips caught in her tangled hair to the very rise and fall of her chest, and suddenly, Shoto was aware that he was breathing. _(What was up with him?)_

He mirrored her actions, allowing his hand to settle on his chest and feeling the beating of his heart. _(He was a real, human person, with a beating heart and breathing lungs.)_

He had never before been more aware of the fact that he was alive.

_(His lungs were aching, though. He didn't quite know why.)_

_((Must be the dust.))_

"You can find him though, right?"

And just like that, Shoto was pulled out of his own little world and into reality. He blinked once, twice, just to clear the last few wisps of fog in his head, and for the first time, actually listened to Deku.

The poor boy looked like he was pinned halfway between a wall and an awkward, but unavoidable, encounter. "Well, um, you see, the thing is…" he began.

* * *

**_Author's Note i. _**_hey ho. i started this a long time ago, and it's still not done, and i don't know what i'm expecting by posting it now lmao. _

_it's been a while since i've really written any fanfiction. i wonder, can i finish this? only time will tell. thanks for putting up with me y'all. and for reading. and for following or faving or reviewing, if that's what you're into. and as always, have a greaaaaaat daaaayyy~~~_


	2. The Bubble Pops

**Word Count: **5,547

* * *

Ochako had the magic, though it wasn't perfect. The best she had was a tracking spell, which allowed them to more or less retrace Kacchan's steps. (More or less.)

So, inefficient?

Yeah. It definitely was.

But it was what they had, and Momo was happier to take the extra time with her extra companions to do a better job together than even dream of an attempt to take on her behemoth of a task alone. (Even though she had, at the start, been fully prepared for the latter, the idea was nigh unthinkable as of late— she'd simply grown too used to, too fond of all of them, no matter how short a time she may have known them.) After all, better to take your time to do a good job than rush just to say you did it (but badly), that you're finished (but incomplete).

The happiness was relatively short-lived, however; for one day they stumbled upon this strange little… something.

It was a normal morning, they all swore. Midoriya, as he requested to be called, had gone off to explore the area around their camp at the crack of dawn; Ochako had been stoking the fire for just as long, too drained from constantly maintaining the tracking spell to go with him. Shoto and Momo had woken up soon after and had been sparring ever since. Just as they usually did.

Somehow, even the act of sparring itself had fallen into a routine. For Shoto, it was the first time he could ever really read a person, the first time he could ever look at the subtle expression and body language (the subtle grimaces and twitches, the held breaths and eased tensions) of a person and predict with perfection their next move.

The same held true with Momo; this was the first time she felt able to get even a peek into his mind, to know what was going on in it (because goodness knew he hardly verbalized anything) and respond to his thoughts before he had even made a move.

(Such is a way that two may become one.)

More and more often would their matches behave as though they had been rehearsed and choreographed to the T. More and more often would their matches end in draws, only ever even concluding because they had to make progress with their quest at _some_ point that day.

There was nothing unusual about Midoriya returning out of breath and babbling about some neat thing he found in the woods or wherever. There was nothing unusual about everyone deciding to pack up and see said neat thing for themselves (after their morning meal, of course).

Yet somehow, the building he found today could only really be described _as_ unusual. Would it be worth going inside to explore? They had done similar before, and as a result, often ended up discovering little long-forgotten stashes of treasures (though honestly, more often than not, the currency was too outdated or too dilapidated to be of any real value).

It was frankly hard to discern what kind of building this structure in the middle of the woods was supposed to be. It didn't seem old. It didn't seem forgotten. Hell, it didn't even seem permanent. Was it someone's house? Was it some abandoned outpost? Parts of it were crumbling; parts of it looked new.

Momo glanced over at Shoto, who didn't have much of a reaction to gauge; then Midoriya, who cocked his head curiously at the sight; and finally settled on Ochako, who frowned whilst rubbing her temple. _Was this just someplace Kacchan had stopped on his quest, some place which they could all ignore, or was it, for some reason or other, something more? _

She hummed aloud, softly, of course, so as not to agitate Ochako's migraine. But before she had the chance to tell her teammates what to do (before she even had the chance to _decide_ what to do), there was a dim, hollow _thump_ like a man falling down, and a gruff voice which grunted, "Who goes there?"

Everyone startled, though Midoriya apparently seemed more so than the rest of them: the hairs on his head were standing straight up from what could only be shock or fear.

"Deku, do you recognize this voice?" Ochako loudly whispered, but Midoriya seemed not to be listening.

Besides, even if he had been paying attention, there wasn't enough time for him to actually say so: a strange, cranky-looking, and disheveled man came stumbling out of the building.

"Midoriya, who is this?" Momo asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She couldn't tell if the stranger could hear her or not, but she already knew that she was _not_ liking the way he was eyeing every single member of their little party, like he was some bird of prey and they were each some helpless, ignorant rabbit.

(She tightened her grip on her sword, not even realizing she had drawn it in the first place.)

"Y-y-you're the legendary Sir Aizawa!" Midoriya stuttered at full volume.

_What?_ Was this strange hobo-looking man truly _Sir Aizawa?_ The mentor to Kacchan about whom Midoriya had spoken? Momo couldn't lie, she thought she had no expectations when it came to meeting the man— she hadn't even thought she _would _meet the man— but somehow, this racoon-eyed weirdo failed to meet her expectations.

The strange hobo man, this supposed _Sir Aizawa,_ paused, slowly shifting his head to face the little green bean boy. "Ah," he said, quite simply, in fact. "You recognize me."

"You were Kacchan's mentor," Midoriya explained, "were you not?"

The man raised an eyebrow, but absolutely nothing else about his expression changed. "Kacchan?"

Midoriya lost his composure for an instant, but he quickly regained it. "Ah, sorry; that's just what I'm used to calling Bakugou." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Sir Aizawa's eyebrow returned to its normal position. "Mhm. And who might you be?"

Ochako let out an audible breath, relieved, and only then did Momo begin to relax just a bit.

Midoriya gulped, but he forced his muscles to relax. He planted the tip of his sword in the soft earth in front of him, shook away the ever-present temptation to make himself small, and said, "Izuku Midoriya, squire under Toshinori Yagi, better known as…"

The second he dropped his mentor's name, he sensed a sudden, new weight to the gazes fixed upon him. He'd forgotten with his years of training how well known, how _mythologized_ the knight was throughout the land, but in the end, this was nothing. He finished his declaration without skipping a beat:

"All Might!"

Someone— most likely Ochako, by the sound of it— stifled a choked gasp of some sort. It was funny, now that he realized it, how this never came up in their friendship. It had been, oh, two years now since they met? Then again, it was rare that they got to spend time together. They should really take the time to get to know one another one of these days.

There was a beat of simple silence. Sir Aizawa made no attempt to break it, but it felt out of line for anyone to speak, so Midoriya took the burden upon himself.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes and directed his attention at the girl. "And you?"

Ochako stiffened, scrambling to get a solid grip on her staff all of a sudden. "I am the magus Uravity of giggle spells and floating objects, better known as Ochako Uraraka."

Sir Aizawa nodded, satisfied with just that.

He hardly had to signal before the princess stepped forward to introduce herself.

"I am Momo Yaoyorozu of the Yaoyorozu Kingdom!" she said, the fire of determination, _certainty _present in her eyes, her words, and her spirit.

Shoto was taken slightly aback. She still hadn't put her sword away, and while it didn't appear as if she intended to really use it, it still made him skittish.

The princess steeled her gaze, but she bit her lip, as if still hesitating. "I have been charged with slaying the dragon to the West. Please, I ask of you," she began, "help us find Bakugou the dragonlord!"

Aizawa was entirely unmoved by her vehement request. "There's nothing to help with, is there?"

This was normally where the princess would launch into an explanation of some sort, but… she didn't. (Shoto supposed he didn't know her as well as he thought.) Instead, she dug her heel into the ground and repeated herself. "Help us find Bakugou!"

"No. That's ridiculous." The man turned to leave.

"Help us find Bakugou!"

Aizawa stopped, but there was something different about his demeanor that chilled Shoto's blood. (The older man briefly glanced at him.) Tensing, he began to warn her, but—

"Do you know why I'm known for keeping so few apprentices?" he asked, his tone so cold, so harsh, yet so indifferent, that even the wind and the birds fell silent.

But the princess was stubborn. She set her jaw solid as stone and took in an equally stubborn breath and—

Aizawa's eyes flashed red, his brow furrowed in apparent fury. "Kids like you are hardly ever worth my time. The wealthier the family, the more spoiled the brat— and you come from the wealthiest family in the kingdom! You hardly look like you've worked a day in your life, not sincerely, not at the things a ruler will need if they don't want to have a kingdom swathed in such _violence_ that they need to go out and _fight_ all the time. You're just running around playing hero all day."

"Help us find Bakugou!" It was almost as if she spat fire with her every word.

Shoto wasn't really sure how fe felt about that, but at least it made him certain that, regardless of whatever this old man said, she was _definitely_ capable of completing the quest given to her.

And maybe Aizawa felt that too, because when he blinked, his face reverted to its original blank slate. He sighed, not quite resigned but not fully convinced either. "Why do you even want to destroy this dragon anyway? Banish the dragon and you banish the hero as well, for there's no use for a hero unchallenged. What will you do once you are done? Why do you want this so badly?"

The princess lowered her sword and eased up at last. "I want to show everyone that I _can."_

Instantly, the knight looked as if he lost interest in them all once more. "Vanity is not a hero's motive, kid."

"No! That's not it," she insisted. She clenched her fist and held it close to her chest as she spoke. "I want to show the world that I'm able to take whatever absurd request they have for me and make it work. That I'm able to carry out my word. That I'm able to care for my people with my own two hands and not simply deliver empty promises."

Aizawa stared at her unchangingly, and she faltered for a moment. Was this good enough? She looked very nearly as if she could cry at any moment now. _I want to show enough humility that I can ask others for help when I need it, but still be powerful enough to be the one to show everyone the way. _"I want to show them that I _can_ be their leader, all on my own."

There was a notable pause. No one spoke or moved or even breathed, it seemed; the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

"I still don't know if you're good enough to lead them."

The princess tightened her grip on her sword. "How can I prove that to you?" she asked with that type of irrevocable certainty that let the world know _she meant it._

Aizawa cracked his knuckles and unsheathed his sword.

(Momo tensed and readied her own blade.)

"Don't worry about that," said Aizawa. "I'll be testing for that myself."

With that, the old knight leapt forward, and they began to fight.

And watching them, Shoto was, in a word, enchanted.

He'd never just watched the princess fight. Always, he was right there in the thick of it, fighting alongside her. Was this how they looked?

(Parry, riposte, and retreat. She executed the sequence with practiced ease because it was, well, _very practiced._ Perhaps too much so, however, for she found herself throwing her weight around far more than she was used to balancing just to keep away.)

Or, well, no. Probably not. They'd grown so in-tune with one another during their time together that they practically synchronized. Indeed, the princess looked a little rushed, a little panicked, a little worse for wear as she fought. The rhythm she'd grown so used to against himself was now more or less useless against Sir Aizawa.

(She grit her teeth as she desperately tried to hold her own against Aizawa's sword bearing down on her. Could she do it? She wasn't sure anymore, not if she was all on her own.)

((She glanced sidewards and caught eyes with Shoto for the briefest of moments. Ah, but she wasn't all on her own, was she? She ducked away from this assault and waged her own.))

_Clang! _Suddenly, the spell was broken over Shoto and he realized that the princess was struggling.

"Shoto!" she called.

For a moment, he didn't realize the princess was asking for his help.

"_Shoto!"_ she repeated, this time with more urgency, and with no hesitation whatsoever did the Todoroki heir jump into the fray to help out his princess.

* * *

Ochako's eyes shone like stars, so excited was she after watching them fight. Sure, they had lost (for which Shoto blamed himself: he really shouldn't have taken his eyes off their opponent once the princess had been thrown down, no matter how chivalrous it seemed in the moment to make sure she was okay), but that wasn't enough to dim her enthusiasm.

"You guys, that was so amazing! You were so graceful, so together, you guys looked like you were—"

For some reason, Shoto was never able to exactly recall, later on, what exactly Ochako said. It was as if for that one moment, his ears had ceased to work, but it wasn't as if his brain couldn't fill in the word anyway.

_Dancing. _

In a flash, Shoto put a hand to his ear in order to smother the fire that had sprung up there. (Right next to him, Momo had to catch a similarly astray matryoshka doll that popped out of her arm seemingly of its own accord.)

Fortunately, before they had to acknowledge this phenomenon, Sir Aizawa snuck up behind them. "It seems you have lost, my lady."

Momo twirled around, her every physical sense strangely heightened, and struggled to process the fact that Sir Aizawa was standing right in front of her. _What did he say?_ ran through her head. _What did he say? What did he just say?_

"There isn't much left in this world that can surprise me, and while your little stunt back there can be added to that list, I find it disappointing that you found it necessary at all," he said. His voice was flat and entirely toneless, yet somehow it still felt as if he were chiding her. "You say you wish to be a leader, all on your own. Can't be claiming to do this all on your own if you have a party along with you."

_No, that wasn't my intention! _"I, um—"

"But what is a queen without her people?" he continued. "A good leader knows where their limits lie, knows when to best ask for help, and knows how to best implement the given aide. You made a wise decision enlisting these folks."

"Thank you, sir." Momo feared that she was trembling. It was difficult to tell; her mind didn't seem fully rooted in her body.

"However, you must be careful not to settle too deeply into predefined methods." His brow lowered to form an unmistakable look of stern disappointment. "I can tell you are used to fighting with one partner and one partner alone. I'm sorry to tell you, Princess Yaoyorozu, but practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Take what you have developed in your practice matches and think less of them as individual attacks, and more as movements woven together into an attack _pattern._ Be more _flexible_ in how you see the world."

Momo didn't know what to say, but she opened up her mouth to try anyway.

Aizawa held up a hand to silence her, and with the pressure of speaking removed, Momo was finally able to calm down. "Despite all that I have said just now, it's all right. Loss is a natural part of growth and learning, an essential step towards victory," he said, pausing to let the words sink in. "You have a long way to go, but…" He looked at all four party members, his gaze seemingly settling upon Shoto, of all people. "You were good enough."

Momo put a hand to her chest and let out all her stress with one massive sigh; meanwhile, Ochako cheered behind her and gave Midoriya a high-five.

"And what's your name, boy?"

Momo turned to look at Shoto, whom she'd forgotten hadn't had the opportunity to introduce himself, as he stared down Aizawa.

He clenched his jaw almost imperceptibly. (She wondered what he was feeling— was it anger? Fear? Reluctance? Resentment? She had worked hard to become literate in his expressions, but there was still so much she didn't know.)

"Shoto," he said, and nothing more.

For some reason, she had expected him to reveal his surname right then, or at least have Sir Aizawa ask for it, but neither of those things happened. Instead, the older man simply nodded, accepting his answer as adequate.

Aizawa straightened out his posture and opened up to address all of them. "You ask me to help with your search for Katsuki. Unfortunately, there is precious little I can offer you all. Despite being his mentor, there is not much I know about his whereabouts, and as a simple knight, I cannot teach you the magic necessary to find him."

Momo felt her heart sink right through her chest and land in her stomach. There was no way this entire morning had progressed in vain, was there?

"However, I can send you to someone who can."

Everyone looked up, hope returning to them all, though Momo tried not to let it rise so highly.

"Her name is Nemuri Kayama, but you may know her better as the enchantress Midnight."

There was an audible gasp that came from Ochako, and everyone turned to look at her. The magus flushed, suddenly embarrassed. "My tutor, Nejire-chan, was a student under her, so I've heard a lot about her like that."

Aizawa nodded at her, his expression unchanging. "So you know about the secret to entering her domain?"

Ochako's face turned bright red, and her hand zipped behind her head as she furiously, nervously scratched the back of her neck. "Well, I can't say I'm privy to that, no," she said, adamantly refusing to make eye contact.

"Good," Sir Aizawa grunted, finally shifting around where he stood. "That's how it should be." He cracked his knuckles and began plodding into his bizarre tent-building-thing.

Everyone just exchanged slightly confused glances, but followed anyway, where he brought out a map for them and showed them the way to Lady Midnight.

* * *

Oh, riding. At what point of their journey would they not have to ride horses for hours and hours for (at times) several days on end in order to get to some important location? Shoto almost wished there was some form of more… _autonomous_ travel that they could use so that they could maybe do other things whilst traveling? At any rate, it was getting hard to focus on the road. It wasn't usual that he would steer the horse, but since the princess wasn't leading the party (for _once;_ they were currently following Uraraka to that Midnight's place), he figured it would be nice to cut her a break.

The princess, as it seemed, had fallen asleep as they rode. She sat astride and leant on him from behind, her head resting upon his shoulder, near enough that he could hear her breathing. He tried not to think about it too much.

He tried not to think too much about a lot of things, actually. Shoto liked to pretend he didn't notice how _many_ things there were that he liked to ignore. Truth was, when he had all these hours of only mind wandering to do, he was forced to face the truth: he had an avoidance problem.

Right now, at the top of his "aggressively trying (and failing) to ignore" list was, well. He was reluctant to admit it, but it was actually that fight with Aizawa earlier. Or really just Aizawa in general. There were a lot of things about Aizawa that he _really_ would rather not think about, but unfortunately, that wasn't how Shoto's brain liked to roll. Tragic.

Like, that thing where the old man just _looked_ at him? It was like his very soul was being stared at; that was _freaky!_ Did he _recognize_ him? Shoto was certain he'd seen Sir Aizawa around _somewhere_ before; he just couldn't quite place where right now. Probably some fancy party when he was younger. Who knew! Certainly not Shoto! Regardless, it was pretty freaking _terrifying._

The princess shifted slightly in her sleep, and Shoto simply _froze_ for all of a minute. Was she rising? He wasn't sure he was ready for her to be awake yet; he felt obligated to just _ignore_ all these thoughts even _further_ because it wasn't as though the princess could read _minds_ or anything, no! Of course not! That was ridiculous and he didn't actually believe that, but he'd feel bad for thinking about it anyway.

But _why?_ It wasn't as though it had even been some particularly _terrible_ and _evil_ thing to think about. They had only been fighting together.

(It was the strange feelings it gave him to replay that moment of Uraraka's commentary in his head that he didn't want to address.)

Fortunately, it seemed she was merely restless as she slept, for she settled back into the exact same position she had slept in for the last few– _hours, _was it now?– with a soft, little sigh, and Shoto was able to breathe again.

* * *

The very ground writhed before them.

It was hard not to be breathless in awe of it, the way all the plants danced and swayed together in motion. Even the grass played its part in adding to the intimidating chaos that surrounded the enchantress Midnight's residence.

"Uraraka," Midoriya whispered, "are you _sure_ you have no idea how to get through this?"

"If I _did,_ I would have _said_ so by now." Her voice was laced with an uncharacteristic tinge of irritation, and everyone found themselves subtly tensing at it. Ochako seemed to notice this and sighed. "Sorry," she said. "Just looking at it is making me freak out, and it's hard to think like that."

Momo softened, hearing this. "It's all right," she said, reaching out to the mage to provide a comforing touch. "Just… listen to your heart."

Ochako shook a little, seemingly oppressing either a giggle or a sob. But, before Momo could decide (or find out) which one, the other girl took a deep breath, held it in, and took a step forward.

The writhing ground froze beneath her feet, and she took another step forward.

The same thing happened. So she took another, and another, and the funny thing was, the ground began to shake again when she was far enough away again.

But Ochako never seemed to lose her nerve, although if Momo had been paying attention to anything other than the sight of the little, pink mage, she'd have noticed that everyone else in the party— including herself— was holding their breath for fear of losing it.

At last, just before it seemed like Ochako was to be swallowed up by the swirling, swaying roots and vines, she stopped. She planted her feet firmly on the solid, stable earth, and she began twirling her magic staff around until she struck it down _hard_ on the ground.

"I am the magus-in-training known as Uravity!" she declared. Her voice echoed through the plains, stilling the thorny plant mass through the sheer power and confidence it carried on its own. "Lady Midnight, grand enchantress and mentor of my mentor, Nejire-chan. I humbly ask you to reveal yourself to my party!"

A gale of wind blew over them all, ruffling their hair, forcing them to close their eyes, and nearly knocking Momo over with its sudden power. But, when it died down and they all opened their eyes again, they found but a pure, empty field of a lawn before Midnight's magic tower.

All was silent for a moment. The wind stopped its whispering, and the world was still. Each party member held their breath, whether they realized it or not.

_K'tunk!_ The large double doors on the tower burst open, and a tall woman with black hair stepped out, grinning broadly.

"Why, hel_-lo_ there, my little Uravity!" she sang, making a beeline for the party's comparatively tiny mage and squishing her round, little cheeks _immediately. _"Aren't you such a _darling _little thing? Where is your party, my dear? You can't all stay out here forever, or else the plants will get you!" Here, she laughed, but it was frankly a little difficult to tell if she was joking or not.

Momo checked on her other friends off to the side and ended up exchanging nervous glances with Shoto, as Midoriya was too enraptured by the sight happening before them.

Shoto shrugged at her. She let out a silent sigh, then stood up, gestured for Midoriya and Shoto to follow her lead, and stepped forward.

"I am the knight Princess Momo Yaoyorozu," she said, her voice strong and loud to carry her words to the enchantress still a safe distance away. "These are our other friends, Midoriya and Shoto."

At the sound of his name, Midoriya bowed slightly, but Shoto mostly just stood there. _(Well, it's probably not too important,_ Momo thought.)

Midnight made some sort of girlish sound of delight as she finally let go of Ochako's cheeks to clap her hands together. "Oh, to be so young and to have such adventures like this! How _adorable!"_ she declared. She then gestured for everyone to hurry closer. "Come in, come in! Quickly, though, or else the magic will all wear off! I can sense a tired mage when I see one, and your little friend here hasn't got much energy left to burn!"

* * *

Once again, Shoto was sitting quietly at a table with his party members and their host, unsure of what to contribute to the conversation and as a result, ended up just focusing on his own internal monologue.

Midnight's tower was much _larger_ on the inside than it had appeared from the outside. Although, now that he was thinking about it, that made sense. Magic, while pretty simple-looking, worked in complex, mysterious ways, after all.

A lot like feelings, he supposed. Feelings were so weird; like, what did they mean? Most of the time, he could figure it out. There was the pleasant happiness he'd often felt in his chest when spending some quiet time alone with the princess. There were the hot flashes of anger that came over him on the rare occasions he thought of home.

But then there were the mysterious pangs he felt in his heart at seemingly the most random times. Like when the princess first called him by his name. He knew he didn't offer her his surname or anything, and he still had no plans to do so, but it still always felt strangely intimate. He didn't get that feeling when Midoriya or Uravity called for him. It was weird.

And there was also that fluttering in his gut that he couldn't understand. The first time it had happened, the princess had tucked the glass flower into his hair, and her laughter must have somehow turned into butterflies in his stomach. He couldn't tell if it was happening more often now or not, but again, it was strange how it only ever seemed to happen around her.

Shoto propped his head up by his elbow, blew a lock of his bangs out of his eyes, and studied the princess as she was absorbed in conversation with the enchantress Midnight. Her eyes sparkled in the light, and the tips of her messy ponytail bounced in a way that matched her excitement. A part of him didn't want the meeting to end so that he could spend forever just staring at her like this, but when Midnight held up a finger and excused herself for a moment, he knew that their time with her was almost spent.

He looked down and studied the wooden table before the princess could notice him staring. He'd been told long ago that it was rude, and while he usually didn't care about manners all that much, lately, he'd been trying them out. He couldn't quite say why, but it seemed like a good thing to do, so sue him.

"All right then," Midnight said as she reentered the discussion room. "While I don't have anything of my _own _that you could handle right now, Nejire did tinker with searching gadgets for a while before setting out on her own." She set a box down in the center of the table and opened it up for them all to crowd around and see.

Shoto looked at it for a second, then up at Midnight, then back in the box, then back up Midnight again.

"That's a compass," he said. "Those were already invented forever ago."

His other party members made various noises of scandalized shock, but Lady Midnight just laughed, reaching over to ruffle his hair (much to his annoyance).

"Indeed they have been, little man," she said as Shoto irritatedly straightened out his hair. "But, as I'm sure you might have gathered with a few more seconds of thought, this one has been modified with the work of a magic-user and therefore counts as an enchanted object."

Ochako took the compass out of the box and studied it for a minute before looking up at Midnight again. "So if I say the magic words inscribed on the back, add in a little rhyming bit at the end about the target, it'll point in its direction?"

"Mm, well, that's the basic idea, yes," Midnight replied, but her smile seemed to suggest otherwise. "As long as you make it clear that you have the target in mind, it should work out like that."

"Seems a little _too _simple," Midoriya commented, and Shoto wanted to disagree because no, sometimes magic really could be just that simple and they probably shouldn't be going around staring gift horses in the mouths.

"Well, obviously, there's more she _could_ do, but they're really not necessary additions," Midnight said, shifting around in her seat so that everyone could see her resting a hand on her hip. "For example, she _could_ have the compass point in the direction of the best _path_ to this Kacchan you speak of rather than just straight at him, but as her current condition stands, I wouldn't _recommend_ you ask her to do more than just point in the right direction."

Everyone looked at Ochako, who suddenly appeared much more shy and awkward. "I can—" she began.

"No, don't," the princess said. "Remember, we're here first and foremost for your health. Just do what Lady Midnight showed you. We'll forge our own path from there."

And just like all the times before, Ochako bit her lower lip, but held in her waterworks, this time trading them in for a furrowed brow of determination. She hit her cheeks twice, then held out the compass as all her compatriots circled around her. She took a deep breath, then let it out, and she said the magic words.

"Little lunar lily lover, lead us to the explosive other."

* * *

**_Author's Note ii. _**_*doing a silly little dance* surprise update! :D and i am very proud to be able to say that i'm actually pretty happy with this chapter, unlike last time!_

_yeah, yeah, i didn't think i'd update this again either. highkey thought abt taking it down for a while, but now that i'm officially well out of the 2019 hiatus, i'm really glad i didn't because i think i can spin this in a way that can make me happy with the story again! sorry if the characterization was inconsistent in this chapter, especially compared to last chapter. there's actually about a year's difference between the writing of the end of last chapter and the start of this one, and then another year and a half between writing the start of this chapter and writing the end of this chapter, which i did finish today. _

_doooon't go expecting another update soon though, since i'm very busy with this one school band/soulmate au at the moment. i just happened to squeeze the last scene in today between working on chapters for that. still, it makes me really happy to know that so many people have followed/faved and have been waiting so patiently for more of this story all this time! it really means a lot to me :D_

_anyway yeah! please review~_


	3. does a peace sign then leaves

**_a/n:_**_ times are changing. hopefully i won't have to put any of my other bnha fics down._

* * *

_Real world_ ch. Three bc now they really are thinking more in terms of the real world. They're back to earth

Here they meet kmjr towards the start of the chapter and they get added to the party.

They probably end up with some kind of buddy system becoming visible. Like, they stop at an inn or something and like idk

But you know what might be fun if there was an inn scene in like every chapter that just kinda tied the reader back into "hey look these characters are growing and changing their relationships yaaay"

At some point, they get so close to krbk that deku starts getting headaches probably and they have to cease the spell and rely fully on their own tracking ability bc they're probably gonna pick up a few things and so bc krbk is obviously. A living moving unit they split up to cover more ground (how would they signal to one another that they were found tho? Idk maybe just bring krbk back to some rendesvous point)

And then it would be kind of funny if what ended up happening was just that like. *tdmm scouring around* *weird suspicous sounds-like-we're-being-hunted noise* "princess nooo" *dramatic save scene wherein they actually find krbk were the ones making the weird suspicious noise* and they first meet kiri in a dragon form but then he transforms and they get to calm down

Then they go on to find krbk, and they have a discussion about dragons

* * *

_Falling backwards_ chapter four. Title taken from sleeping at last and esp that one line "one day i had enough of this exercise of trust / i leaned in an let it hurt, let my body feel the dirt" because momo had trusted todo and the information he'd given her, and when that turned out to be wrong, she let it hurt, but that also allowed herself to see the world as it was, to see the realities of her kingdom. And tbh? She found there was beauty even in the dirt if she went looking for it.

YEEEEEE

All this time, todo just continues to call momo basically just strictly "princess" bc i guess that's just what feels right to him but then she figures out his identity and then have a rough patch bc she's all Unsure™ and Betrayed for whatever reason by the truth and she just kind of doesn't say anything

Man you know what would be neat if todo still had that glass flower and contemplated what's happening as he stared at it and maybe how he views the princess and their relationship hmm

And then when she finally starts talking to him again there's not really an apology bc that just doesn't feel necessary to either of them? Todo understands that she needed her space to process what happened, but since they couldn't have any physical space, just the silence and emotional space was what had to suffice. And also it feels natural to start talking again and wow look todo's actually able to start calling her momo and neither of them even _realize_ that that's a _thing_ that's happening

Meanwhile, while The Silence is happening, they finally get to the town with the dragon. God knows how long it's been since the start of the story but they probably got to this town hella lot faster than they found krbk bc kiri… is dragon thing. Can turn into dragon and just frikke them to.. Near the town. That sounds better bc townsfolk and dragon oh boy. And so then anyway they get some info on the dragon and go out and meet it i guess

And then baku probably does his dragonlord magic or w/e and everyone's like "that was so anticlimactic wtf" maybe?

Yeah should probably have some scenes that help hype baku's side ability of dragons between meeting krbk

* * *

_My dream within a dream_ as chapter five. Supposed to portray that good kind of dreamy haze you get when you get that Real Life Literary Payoff and your dreams come true

This is when momo actually probably really starts talking to todo again i guess. Pillow talk to parallel that first chapter maybe? She finally gets to unlock todo's Tragic Backstory here yeah. Maybe they realize too late that they did the same thing as tetsu did that got him turned into a dragon and they're like "oh crap we need to get out fast" or something and heeeey here's the climaaax as they're trying to get out of that place maybe?

Anyway momo gets to have her dramatic save scene where she saves todo to make 'em even after he saved her when meeting krbk

Or maybe the climax isn't their actual escape, but their dismantling of the magic place. Which happens at night probably bc that's what feels right

This is probably why they need so many people in the end. Ochako is the mage, so she can cast the spell to actually put the magic curse place to sleep or whatever, but then you need people to fight off whatever dangers are rising up, and also since it's a massive spell, she'd probably have to draw strength and magic from outside of herself (*insert deku as a support character who has to stay near her and basically guard her personally as she leeches off some of his magic power*), and you know what might be neat? One of those moments where the characters are no longer sure if they'll make it out of their mess alive and so therefore they confess their love to each other just so that they don't die never saying it (probably kmjr bc tdmm would make more sense after the fact, when they're all alone again bc they're probably too focused on survival in the moment)

And then anyway the cool battle ends with the break of dawn and you know what it's gonna be the vernal equinox for no discernable reason bc six months seems a pretty reasonable time for all this travelling to happen. Extra magic on the equinox i guess whoo

Cool battle ends everyone is relieved whoopee time to go home i guess

Cool climactic battle might be still part of chapter four? Honestly depends on how much time they actually take meeting krbk and having a fireside chat and Stuff

Anyway it takes them like half the time to get back to the capitol bc there's no more wandering around kinda lost and w/o knowing what to do yay so now it's summer and everyone gets p a id and obviously along the way tdmm gets to talk abt their _feelings_

Anyway they return and at first momo's parents are surprised at her relationship w/todo bc she left specifically bc she didn't want to get married, but then she gets to clarify that she did both, actually, slay the dragon and find someone to marry. She went out, proved herself, and also came back with a man. But she's not marrying bc of obligation or bc she feels she wouldn't be able to rule correctly w/o him, but because she found him to be a valuable friend and companion with whom she didn't want to part for the rest of her life.

I mean if this chapter gets too long and can't have parts crammed into chapter four, then there can be a part six epilogue titled _home_ as cliché as that title is. Good thing abt a part six: get to close up everyone else's arcs too probably bc that's more epilogue-ish to be able to do. Probably get to cover momo's coronation or smth as the setting of this epilogue aw man am i just gonna have an epilogue regardless ah dang it maybe

* * *

Uraraka's initial tracking spell puts them on a rough path retracing bakugou's steps (so obvs extremely inefficient) and this happens to let them stumble across aizawa's uh. Hermit outpost? Training camp maybe? Whom'st knows

Basically anyway they find aizawa, who is a swordmaster

Anyway they find aizawa whilst looking for baku. Aizawa shows them just how far they have to go in their skillz bc for whatever reason they need to best him in one-on-one combat? Or maybe he's just renowed throughout the land for being really cool and really good at what he does (nah not really only like deku would know that bc deku's a nerd and aizawa is super covert abt stuff he does why else would he have his outpost literally in the middle of fuck-all nowhere)

Anyway aizawa shows them Just How Far they have to go, criticizes the inefficiency of the tracking spell (which probs kills uraraka and momo's self-esteems, makes deku embarrassed that he couldn't help, and tbh todo's just nervously shifting around bc aizawa Recognizes him but doesn't say jack shiet)

However, aizawa guides them to midnight, who is actually able to help them refine the spell so that they can get an actual handle on where tf baku is, but the catch here is that you need someone who knows the target pretty well. The better the caster knows the target, the more accurate it is

Seeing that uraraka has like, never met bakugou, ,this is a pretty serious caveat

Bakugou and deku's knight under whom they serve was all might

Background lore to deku is obviously that he was a peasant boy whom all might chose to be his page for reasons that don't actually matter tbh. He and baku were actually proper rivals and therefore have a diff dynamic and improved relationship compared to canon, s when deku asks them to help out, baku mostly just "tch"s and says that unfortunately, he can't control dragons, only comm with them

Uses kiri as an example

Kiri is actually technically under a curse? Maybe? I mean clearly he's a shifter btwn dragon n boy (n stays like halfway btwn usually bc that's what's Cool™) but maybe he was stuck in his dragon form until baku came along and saved him/broke his curse? Was that baku's first assignment quest? Maybe. I'm not too into the saviour of the beast/tamed-then-lover plotline tho

* * *

Deku's in his final days of squirehood.

Baku comes from a line of dragonlords, and being lords, he obviously is also a knight

Baku being slightly older, was sired into knighthood earlier than deku, so now he's on his own little quest going god-knows-where

He picked up kiri at some point along the way, so now they're a boxed set not sold separately. Kiri's a dragon shifter

* * *

Uraraka can do a tracking spell, but can only cast it on a target she knows well enough. However, she can cast the spell on deku and let _him_ channel the magic and basically act as the tracking device

Unfortunately, the spell doesn't work forever, and not quite so well when not used as intended, so deku's sense of direction gets kinda out of whack, and they need to settle in a little town for a while to let him recover. Momo again makes an executive decision for the Health of the Party Members to take a rest stop in the next town they find, and this is how kmjr enters the party! They're a duo of professional trackers (jirou does the tracking and gets most of the credit; kaminari stays on board bc he's good comic relief and has had enough competent moments that jirou's gotten attached), and they help keep the party alive (via hunting or w/e) when they're on the road, and they pick up on the more subtle signs of life as they approach baku

Aizawa _does_ recognize shoto, but he doesn't actually say anything, but momo notices that zawa regards shoto slightly differently than the rest of them

God I love fireside chats let's have another one wherein todo lets out a little bit of why he ran away from home, allowing for momo to figure out who he is

\- This takes place probably closer to the start of chapter four, really soon after krbk joins the party. Momo wakes up at three in the morning just at random (maybe bc getting used to night shifts), and shoto's just having one of those nights, so he's been poking at the fire for hours now, never mind the fact that he could technically just make some of his own. Momo doesn't say anything, just sits down beside him and he's just like, "hey."

* * *

Then during the reveal, all the pieces just fall into place for momo and she's just like, "you're shoto todoroki."

And for some reason, it feels like a betrayal of her trust. Because for all this time, it had never occurred to her that he was from such a highly-statused family. She was still naïve when she first set out and met him on that day, so while his appearance and behavior had its refinery just ingrained into him, that was still her normal, and as time went on, she'd already become blind to that normal and that assumption by the time she had learned to know better.

But at the same time, it really was a betrayal of her trust; it just wasn't shoto who broke it but rather, the upper classes as a whole. She'd been raised to assume that they were all good people because of course the good people are rewarded in life and all, but while there had been moments and people who had begun to wear away at this idea (like uraraka coming from ridiculous poverty), but this really was the straw that broke the camel's back. But now she's come to see the world in shades of grey, but like, in a good way.

But yeah so now she's falling backwards, ready to just hit the dirt from this apparently-failed trust fall, and it does hurt-

* * *

Izch actually totally blatantly like one another, and both separately compare their situation to shoto's- which he still doesn't really see. Uraraka sees it from the [perceived in tdmm's case] class disparity; deku sees it from "she's too good for me"

* * *

Wh

What if tetsutetsu was the dragon

And then rather than slaying the dragon, they must smuggle him out into the countryside or some swan lake thing to break a curse that was clearly laid upon him

Okay but like seriously who the hell is cursing all these people to become dragons? (does it matter tbh?) hmmm

Or maybe he isn't cursed to be a dragon but rather did something that made him lose his sanity or whatever or honestly the idea of "swan lake circumstances" (wherein he's only a dragon part of the time and if he goes back to some place then he can be a human again) sounds pretty good to me. It happens to him bc he's just messing with some fae crap or whatever he just kinda accidentally does smth to himself (don't take the shiny things, they always say in fairy tales anyway) and whoop now it's no one's fault yay

Ohhhhh man but if this is a thing this makes kiri n baku even more important characters bc then kiri could have undergone something similar and therefore would be able to recognize the symptoms of whatever the heck it is tetsu's under first and bc they're experienced in breaking it, they can help take over the whatever it is that needs to be done

* * *

**_a/n: _**_i have a complicated relationship to this fic, but i think it's for the better that i just declare it dead now._


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